On The Run
by kingdom-keepers-rule
Summary: The Overtakers are winning.Big time.Green eyes are everywhere-millions,throughout the country. They're teachers.Parents.Neighbors. Wayne. With nowhere left to turn to,the keepers take to the streets,spending their nights in tents and abandoned buildings. But with green eyes in the FBI, Police, shops, hospitals, and everywhere else, how long can they avoid capture- or worse, death?
1. Search and Rescue

**As I'm wrapping up Great Movie Adventure… I thought of this…**

**Hello, new multichip. O.o**

**A bit Alternate Universe, maybe.**

**Amanda**

The footsteps faded down the hall.

"GO!" Finn whispered in my ear. We sprung out of the custodial closet, creeping as silent as we could down the hallway.

We held tight to the wall on our way, as it was too dark to see much. It was damp and moldy in the abandoned building, making it altogether _more _unpleasant. My stomach churned; from the smell? From the nerves? Or was I getting sick? I can't afford to be sick.

My hand brushed against something slimy on the wall- _don't think about it-_ and I kept going. Just like Philby had said. After the third left, make a right. Keep going straight. Turn left again. There should be a door. A door. _Picture the door, Amanda. _Picture the door.

Can't screw up.

My breath became ragged; worried gasps for air. Finn merely shushed me. No 'its gonna be okay'. Nothing.

"_Stop._" Finn whispered, and I stopped moving, deadly silent. Shaking.

Life or death.

Don't blow this.

_Please._

I heard nothing. The absence of footsteps left silence enough to hear the water dripping form the pipes. Louder. Every time.

_Drip_

_Drip_

_DRIP._

_DRIP!_

I gasped, trying to focus on anything else. But the water droplets began to sound like a clock. A ticking clock. No time. Running out of time- _faster! We need to go faster!  
_

_Calm down, Amanda._

I whimpered. Finn nudged me, and we kept on going. One more turn. Okay. Straight. On the left.

The door- the _door-_ I feel it- the cool frame… this is it- this is the door. The right door.

"_Manda. On the count of three."_

I bit my lip. I was anxious.

Apparently, Finn was, too.

"_Three!"_

We burst through the doors, the dim light showing me two figures, sitting in chairs- yes, _yes-_ we did it. I ran to the light-haired figure, slouched against the restraints of a chair they were tied to. The person's head hung down, their long, matted hair falling, covering their face. They sat, unmoving.

"Char." I whispered, with a small smile. I gently placed a hand on either side of her face, and picked her head up so she was looking at me. Or would be, had her eyes been open. My smile faded almost immediately. I looked her over; her face was covered in cuts and blood, bruises swelling it up to be almost unrecognizable. "_Charlie." _I tried again, but it came out as a croak.

I hastily started at the duct tape and zip-ties holding her arms down.

I heard a whimper, and looked up. She blinked-an action that looked absolutely _agonizing-_and looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

"M-Manda?" she whispered, groggily blinking.

"Hey, kid. Guess who came to get you." I laughed.

"Manda!_" _her eyes flooded with tears, and she cringed. "Y-You gotta get me out of here! Please- p-please, Manda, g-get me out!"

I felt like I was going to puke. She was _terrified._

"Shh, Char. We're working on it; we're gonna get you out. Hey… deep breath..." I rubbed her arm as I went back to her restraints.

Faintly, I heard footsteps in the hall.

"_Manda!"_ Finn whispered from behind me. He stood in front of a beat-up Maybeck.

"I know." I looked around. "Supply closet."

"Got it." Finn said, running to the closet. Maybeck cringed, putting his head back in defeat.

"Char, I'll be _right back_-"

"N-no! No, Manda, please- don't- please don't leave me- please, I- M-"

"Char, no one can know I'm here, okay?"

"Manda!" she whimpered.

"I'll be right back. I promise."

The footsteps were dangerously close, now.

I squeezed her hand and backed away, despite Charlie's blubbering, crying, nonsense, and slipped into the closet next to Finn.

Charlie had now started _sobbing_. I bit my lip.

"_They must've done something terrible to them."_ Finn breathed in my ear.

I nodded, my vision blurring with tears.

The door clicked open.

"Shut up." A deep voice yelled at Charlie.

She immediately silenced her sobs down to whimpers.

"There are two intruders." The voice barked. "_Who are they!_"

My heart dropped into my stomach, and I froze.

"Intruders, Sir?" Maybeck croaked.

"Yes. You know them, don't you?"

"N-No, sir, I don't believe so, sir."

Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting skin and bone rang through the air like a gunshot. Maybeck groaned.

"Nonsense! Lawrence Whitman and Amanda Lockhart! You _know _them!"

"I don't know anyone named Lawrence."

The man roared with rage.

"Then how about _you, _little girl!"

"I d-.. I dunno, sir."

A crash was heard, and Charlie's whimpers of pain grew louder. I buried my face in Finn's chest, and he hugged me tighter.

"_Tell me!"_

"_I SWEAR! I SW-SWEAR! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SOMEONE GETTING IN!_"

There was a _long _pause.

"If we find out you're lying… There will be consequences."

The door slammed. We waited until the footsteps were inaudible for minutes- minutes that seemed like hours- before we finally opened the door.

"Finn! Amanda! _Get us the hell out of here!"_ Maybeck's voice hissed, laced with pain.

Charlie's chair had been knocked over, and she lay sideways on the floor.

"Char-" I whispered, kneeling next to her. I cut the duct tape off and sawed through the zip-ties with a pocket knife. I then tossed it to Finn. "Come on- up you go."

I grabbed her under the armpits, dragging her to her feet. I pulled her into a hug once she was up, and she buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing and shaking.

"Manda…" she cried. She was hyperventilating and sputtering.

"Shh, Charlie, you have to be quiet."

She nodded, hiding her face in me. I hugged her, trying to get her to calm down.

"Get me out… Get me out, _please, _Manda." She whispered.

"Okay, Char."

Finn helped Maybeck up, pulling one of his arms around his shoulder to help him walk.

"Come on." Finn muttered, and I followed him out the door. I shut the door behind us, practically dragging Char with me down the dark hallway.

…

**O.O**

**A NEW MULTICHAP.**

**WHOAH.**

**YEAH. THE IDEA HIT ME SUDDENLY.**

**REVIEW? What do you think?**


	2. Kentucky

**Willa**

"They're not back yet." I muttered. "Where.. What could've-"

"Willa. I'm sure it's going according to plan. It takes a while to infiltrate a government base full of green-eyed FBI agents."

I bit my lip. Jess grabbed my hand.

"Take a deep breath." She said.

"And Phil, where's-"

"He went to the store! He told us."

"Yes, but-"

"Wills."

"Sorry…"

I sighed, watching the puff of air leave my mouth. I was _freezing_, and this being a concrete warehouse wasn't helping the fact it was probably five degrees out right now. The abandoned building had three and a half walls- I say three and a half because one of the walls had a truck-sized hole in it. The ceiling had holes, too, so snow drifted down in various places, making random piles. The accidental 'skylights', makeshift 'door' hole, and light reflecting off the snow lit the place nicely, though it _was _still daylight. Me and Jess huddled on the metal catwalk twenty feet above the ground; Amanda hates when we're up here, but we like it, so here we sat. Amanda thinks it's going to fall one day. I think the thin, rusted metal is doing _just fine._

"Where are we again, Jess?"

"Upstate New York."

"Hm. Do you think we could go to the city? I've never been there. We'd blend in. The green eyes probably wouldn't notice."

"Maybe. But do you remember what Philby said? He thinks it's 5-10% in major cities and towns. Five percent are green-eyes. There's like ten million people in New York at any given time, that's like a half million green eyes, best-case scenario."

I shrugged.

"How did there get to be so many?" I muttered.

"I don't know, Wills. _You're _the teenage super-genius, aren't you? What do you think?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe it was a poison. Or a disease, that turns them to green eyes. Maybe hypnosis? In movie theaters?"

She shrugged. "May be."

We sat in silence for a while. I shivered, pulling my arms into my shirt to keep warm. I had let Amanda borrow my sweatshirt before they left.

"Wills, do you want my sweatshirt?" Jess muttered.

"No, I'm fine."

"You're just wearing a t-shirt."

"I'm fine."

"We need to go into town and get supplies soon. Philby just went for food, but we need more sweatshirts and blankets."

"We need to travel light."

"I know." She looked down.

"How're we going to pay?"

"Charlie's Mom's card, I'm guessing. Her turn."

I nodded. Charlie's mother was the first to 'go green'. She had come home from work, completely dazed, and then Charlie had realized. She took her mom's credit card, and had run to my house. There we stayed until we had gotten news that Phil's parents, Mrs. Nash, and Mr. Whitman were green-eyes too. My mom had been the last. But we all took our parent's credit cards, and went to Maybeck's house. Aunt Jelly told us it wasn't safe, kissed us goodbye, and bought us train tickets. She'd be in contact, she said. We haven't heard from her since.

Now, we cycled through the cards, taking turns. We took large amounts out at ATM's and left town, so our purchases couldn't be tracked.

Jess hugged me, which I was _very _grateful for. I was warmer immediately.

"Do you hear that?" Jess breathed.

I listened.

_Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…_

That's someone walking on snow.

"Someone… A bunch of someones, walking. Here." I guessed. Jess nodded.

"Stay still, don't make a _sound._"

I nodded stiffly.

We looked at the door.

_Crunch…_

Closer… If it was police, or worse, _green eyes_, we'd be in some deep trouble.

_Crunch… crunch…_

"Jess?" A small whisper. "Willa?"

"Manda!" I stood up, and the catwalk creaked.

"What did I tell you about standing on the catwalk!?" Amanda nearly yelled.

"Oh… Sorry, Mand." Jess said, carefully climbing down the ladder. I followed. A few rungs were missing, so I held tight. We ran over to Amanda.

"Hey, Manda!" I said quickly. "Um.. Did you, uh…"

She smiled, pulling me into a hug. Then, she nodded towards the door-hole. Both me and Jess looked.

Finn stood, with Charlie and Maybeck.

"Charlie!" I screeched, and ran at her. I pulled her into a hug. She closed her eyes, resting her head on my shoulder, and grappling onto fistfuls of my shirt. Like I was going somewhere, and she didn't want me to leave. She was _shaking, _and I noticed she wore both Finn's and my sweatshirts.

Jess had run and hugged Maybeck, who looked like he needed it. He looked more serious than ever. No smile, no jokes. He Just looked down at Jess, and hugged her- very tightly, and you could tell he appreciated it- but very straight-faced. Jess rubbed his back a little, pulling out of the hug.

"W-Wills…" Charlie whispered.

"Yeah, Charlie?"

"M'wearing your sweatshirt…" She slurred.

"That's okay."

"Y- mhhh… Yeah, but…" She started to fall. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around her again, holding tightly.

"Char!" I whispered. I eased her down to the ground, and sat next to her. "Charlie, are you alright? Char!?"

"M'fine…" She muttered, letting herself rest against me. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Charlie, you just _collapsed._" FInn said, crouching on the other side of her.

I finally got a good look at her, and cringed. Her left eye was swelled up and a deep purple color, A cut ran from her temple to her jaw, and it didn't look pretty. Under her nose was dried blood. Her right cheekbone was swelled and purple, as well. And at the top of my sweatshirt, where the zipper ends, I could see cuts on her chest, as well- she had lost her shirt in that prison, apparently. She was shaking, I realized it might not all be from the cold, though. She looked traumatized.

Maybeck was no better. His face was swelled in many different places; his hands were bloody. His one eye would not open. He was only wearing an undershirt and shorts.

"Can we risk a hospital?" I breathed.

"No, Wills." Finn said. "You know that. Too dangerous."

I bit my lip, and nodded.

"We'll get you and Phil to look them over."

"Okay, but a class semester in first aid _isn't _ten years in med school, Finn."

"I know." He sighed.

I sat on the cold concrete in front of the wall, allowing Char's head to rest on my lap. She was asleep almost immediately. Amanda sat next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Hey, Wills."

"Hi, Manda."

She scooted a little closer to me, and I was once again grateful for the warmth.

"You okay?" I muttered.

She nodded.

"She's so scared, Wills."

"I know… Maybeck, too."

She nodded. I looked over at Maybeck, propped up against the opposite wall. He was sleeping, and he had his head resting on Finn's shoulder, which was quite odd, but understandable. Finn stared blankly ahead, lost in thought. Where Jess was, I have no clue.

I leaned back, resting my eyes for _just a second._

When I opened them again, it was dark. There was a bonfire going right outside the door-hole, heating up the little factory room slightly, and lighting it up a lot. I was lying down now, near the door and the fire, resting on a blanket and covered by a thicker blanket. It was _incredibly _warm. Phenomenal.

As I looked around, I realized everyone else was awake, except Maybeck, who slept right next to me, under the same blanket. It wasn't weird, though. Ever since we'd left home, we were all amazingly close. Sharing a bed with _any one_ of the keepers was only weird because sharing a bed with _more than one_, or _all _of the keepers was the new norm.

Anyway, Finn, Jess, Amanda, Charlie, and (thank _god _he's back alright) Philby sat in a circle, whispering, as to not wake us.

Pushing the blankets onto Maybeck, I stood, stretching, and dragged myself to sit next to Philby.

"Hey, hun." I whispered. He wrapped an arm around me and pressed his lips to the side of my head, and stayed like that for a while. I closed my eyes.

His kiss ended, and he rested his head against mine. "Hey. How was your nap?"

I chuckled.

"I didn't even realize I was taking a nap."

"Hm."

"Did you… Uh, check them over?"

"I checked Maybeck and Finn for injuries. Finn's fine. And nothing broken on Maybeck. Just bruises. And cuts, none too deep though. You should check Amanda and Charlie over in the morning."

"It can wait that long?"

"From what I can tell, yes."

I sighed, nodding. I leaned against him, enjoying his warmth. I listened back in to the others' conversation.

"Are we sure we weren't followed?" Finn whispered.

"Pretty sure." Philby said. "However, we've been here for a week. It's time to move again."

I looked up at him.

"But, we're all tired." I said. "And with Char and Maybeck in the condition they're in-"

Philby adjusted his hat- that was something he'd picked up after we left home. A grey, turn-of-the-century newsboy cap. He'd picked it up because he'd said he doesn't like when it starts to grow out, and that's what it's going to do since we can't afford to get haircuts. Well, with the credit cards, we definitely could, but haircuts just seem like a waste. Amanda's been cutting Finn's hair for him, short, with a pair of scissors, and it was now scraggly and messy without his hair gel or conditioner, but the look suited him alright. Very boyish. And Maybeck's been going at his own hair with a razor he bought- not an electric one. The kind guys use to shave their faces. But he's been keeping it normal-Maybeck length with that.

Anyway, Philby adjusted his hat and sighed.

"There's an industrial train station up the road. That's where I was today after the store. I was listening in on the workers. There's one coming tomorrow, guys. It stops, they load the cargo, we sneak on, and there you go- a free ride to Kentucky."

"Kentucky?!" Jess grumbled. "What the _hell _could be in _Kentucky!?_ There's like no one there!"

"Exactly. We should be safe there for a week or two."

"Only a week?" Amanda whispered.

"We have to keep moving, Amanda." Philby said.

"We can be tracked. We just need to move before they track us, right? I agree with Philby." Finn added. "We move around every once in a while, after a few days, and criss-cross the country. Or the continent. We keep moving so they can't catch up."

"The green eyes? They're everywhere." Jess said. "No matter where we run."

"… I think they mean the ones in the, like… FBI." Charlie's weak voice shut _everyone _up. We stopped to listen. "We're wanted criminals in the eyes of some FBI and police and investigators."

"Some, not all." Jess muttered.

"Yes, but the ones that _do _think we're wanted criminals- the green-eyed ones- have the tools to hunt us down. We're the green-eyes main concern right now." I muttered. "It may only be a small percent of federal agents who _are _green eyes, but that small percent is going to come after us. We can deal with and avoid the green-eyed shop keepers and school teachers, but not professionals tracking us."

We looked around.

"We'll wind up in Kentucky. After that, I'll find another place." Philby said.

"We're going." Finn said. And it was final. Finn is our leader, and it has never been more acknowledged than it has been recently.

"I'll put out the fire. We need rest." Philby said. We nodded, and got settled into our blanket beds. Basically, they were three layers. A thin blanket, the people, and then a thick blanket. Two people per 'blanket bed'. Three in mine. Philby and Maybeck in one, Amanda and Finn in another, and me, Jess, and Char in the last.

"Goodnight, guys." Phillby sighed, and the fire fizzled as he packed snow onto it to stop it.

As soon as the room went dark, Charlie scooted towards me. So I wrapped my arms around her, kissed her forehead, and closed my eyes. _She's traumatized_.

"You okay, sis?"

She just shrugged, already halfway into the realm of sleep.

…**.**

**Ooh, chapter two. Kind of uneventful, kind of not.**

**It'll pick up. Don't worry.**

**Poor Char. Poor Maybeck.**

**REVIEW!**


	3. A Long Way Out

**Finn**

I woke up with my arm around Amanda. She was already awake, her head resting on my chest, playing with the zipper of my sweatshirt. Her brownish-gold hair was sprawled out across my chest; her hand resting on my abdomen. I smiled, for the first time in what seems like an eternity.

"Good morning." I whispered.

She shifted, so her head rested on my arm. She smiled at me, that beautiful, reassuring smile.

"Shh…" she whispered, a smirk playing across her features. "Everyone's asleep."

And she leaned in, kissing me. I smiled, but it faded. I just wanted to be with her. I wanted to be as close as possible to her. Right now. She felt it too, I guess, because she shifted to be on top of me. I pulled her _closer_. I kissed her jaw, down her neck.

"Finn…." She whispered. "Finn, _stop._"

Immediately, I stopped.

"Wh…What?" I asked, quickly. We'd… Uh... _made out…_ before, it's not like…

"I'm sorry, Finn… We can't. Not here. Not in our situation, I mean…"

"No making out?" I sighed, with joking disappointment. I turned on my side and pulled her closer. "Maybe I'll just settle for cuddling."

"Oh my god. You're so cheesy!" She laughed, burying her face in my chest.

"I try." And I really _did _try. Every time I said something dumb, or cute, or 'cheesy', her face would light up and she'd laugh and kiss my cheek… Why _wouldn't_ I want that? So I get called cheesy, yes. But I get to see that amazing smile, the light blush… she's too adorable.

Suddenly, I heard a shriek. _Crash!_

Both of us sprang up, as well as Willa and Philby. Charlene slowly sat up, and Maybeck just rolled over and covered his ears.

"Where's Jess!?" Amanda whispered, frantic and breathless.

"_Shit!_ Shit! Sh-"

I saw what had happened. The rusty metal catwalk that she and Willa liked to sit on had fallen, bringing Jess down with it. Willa ran to her side, and Amanda followed.

"Jess!" Amanda shrieked. "I told you not to sit up there!"

"I know…" Jess seemed to be forcing her words out. "I might… Listen… next time… Ah! God, that hurts…" She took a slow, deep breath. "Okay…ah…. Okay, it's going away."

"Jess, what hurts?"

"My arm… ah…No, no, no… it's coming back again!" She looked up. "I landed on it… Th-The… my wrist, and my elbow!"

Amanda sat next to Jess, pulling her into a hug. Jess was breathing in and out, quickly, seemingly trying not to cry.

"Shh, Jess." Willa mumbled, holding onto her arm. She was deep in thought. She looked up at Amanda, almost apologetically. Then, she jerked Jess' arm away from her. A sickening pop echoed. Jess shrieked, burying her face in Amanda, who laced their hands together.

"Ah… Okay…" Jess breathed. "Sorry bout that. Back to life as normal, folks. Nothin to see." She laughed, breathlessly.

"Your elbow was out of place. I popped it back in. It'll hurt for a day or two, maybe." Willa mumbled. She then sighed. "Which reminds me. Manda, I should check you and Charlie over."

"Why me?" Amanda muttered.

"You were there."

"I'm not hurt, though. I didn't even fight."

"Amanda. Please." Willa whispered. "I just want to make sure, okay?"

"But… Why?"

Willa sighed.

"I just want everyone to be checked over from time to time, okay? We're literally living on the streets. Well, now, we're in the woods, but you get the idea. I just want to make sure no one's hurt or sick, not infected cuts or mysterious bug bites. Okay?" She bit her lip.

"Alright, Wills. If it makes you feel better." Amanda said. "We'll be back, in the office room over there."

"The office has no roof…" I muttered. The office was one of two rooms that branched off the one we called home for the past two weeks. The other room's ceiling had no holes in it, but tables of sewing machines took up the dark, creepy space, and barely any light got in. Half of the room was charred, and it was hard to breathe… And it was just plain freaky.

"Yeah… So?" She laughed. "You guys pack up. We'll be right back."

Amanda and Willa helped Charlie into the next room.

Jess looked up at me.

"You're stupid sometimes." I laughed. Yeah, we had all become pretty close in the past few weeks. That included treating each other like family. _That_ included insults.

She shrugged. She stood, pushing me out of the way.

"Hey, Jess…" I mumbled.

She turned around, still not looking too happy.

"You alright?"

She just shrugged again.

"Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. With my sister, I mean. She really loves you."

"And I really love her." I said. Then, I remembered something. "You were awake when we were… um… kissing, weren't you?"

"I was awake when you were full-on making out, yes."

"Listen, there's nothing else going on there."

"There'd better not be." She said, an eyebrow raised.

"Okay. Just, uh. Clearing that up."

"I was saying, Finn, I've seen guys break her heart before. I love you like a brother, but if you hurt her, I'll skin you."

"Pleasant." I mumbled, starting to fold up mine and Amanda's blanket bed. She began to fold up hers, and Philby tried to wake up Maybeck. "Jess, what made you think of that suddenly?"

"I don't know."

"Jess." I stood up, looking at her. She peered back at me. "You had a nightmare, didn't you? A Jess dream?"

She gritted her teeth.

"I just… Yes, a Jess dream. Amanda was crying. I don't know why. But I'm just trying to weed out the possibilities, okay? Look."

She tossed the notebook to me. Of course, it was a simple drawing. It was Amanda, so spot-on it could've been a picture. She was sitting, hugging her knees to her chest. And on her face was such a look of _pain_, it hurt _me _to look at it. Philby came over and looked, too

"Oh…" He said.

Jess snatched the journal out of my hands. She hastily closed it, shoving it in her backpack.

"Just… Don't. Finn... I don't know why I told you not to hurt her, Finn. I knew it wasn't going to be you. I think… I think I wanted it to be you. I wanted the reason she's crying to be you, because I know that… that if it isn't you, something else is really hurting her or bothering her in this picture and I really…"

Her voice was getting higher in pitch, as she got a little choked up.

"Jess…" I muttered.

"Why don't you two take a break? I'll finish packing." Philby said, a little too cheerily. He knew we were both scared, I know he was too.

"Thanks, Phil… Finn, I didn't mean to worry you." Jess muttered. She sat down next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. She sniffled.

"You getting sick?" I asked.

"Eh. Charlie stole all the covers last night. But. You know. It's not like me or Willa was going to steal them back, I mean. She's had a bit of a rough few days."

I nodded.

Philby slid next to me, leaning on the wall.

"Maybeck's tired. He doesn't want to get up. Everything's packed except for the blanket he's lying on."

"Okay. When the girls get out, he wakes up and we leave."

Philby nodded.

"We've got cans of soup we can drink, enough for one meal a day for two days. Since it's a cargo train, we'll be on it for four."

"In other words, we each get a half can of soup a day?" Jess whispered.

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"We'll have to make it work." I muttered.

Jess put her face in her hands and sighed. Amanda and Willa walked in, Charlie in between them.

"Broken rib." Willa croaked. _She_ looked terrible. Willa had been constantly running around for weeks- _she_ normally made the rounds to get food from the town, _she _slaved over anyone sick or hurt. She was worrying herself sick.

Charlie groaned, and Amanda pulled her into a hug, seemingly supporting most of her weight.

**Willa**

"Come on, Maybeck." I whispered. I put a hand on his back, helping him sit up. "Hey. Hi, good morning, how are you feeling?"

He groaned.

"Little sore?" I whispered.

He nodded, wiping the tiredness from his eyes. "How's Charlie?"

I sighed. "Broken rib."

He looked mad. _Really_ mad.

"Maybeck, there's nothing you can do to them, okay? So don't dwell on it."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. Willa… You didn't hear her. You didn't hear how they tortured her."

I bit my lip. I suddenly felt my heart sink into my stomach. I'd known they'd tortured her, I just…. Didn't like hearing it, I guess.

"Time to get up. We're getting out of here today."

"Where're we headed?" He asked, rolling off the blanket. He crouched down to fold it, but groaned.

"Kentucky. I got it, Maybeck. Go let them know we're leaving."

…

We stood at the front of the train, the part that they had already loaded, crouching behind some barrels.

"Okay. They're loading the back now. On the count of three, I'll run and open the door. And one by one, we get in. Okay?" Philby whispered.

We all nodded.

"_One… Two… Three!"_

He ran at the cart, noiselessly flinging the door open and hurling himself in. A few minutes later, we were to follow. First, Maybeck, helped by Finn. Then, Jess, dragging the limping Charlie. Last, me and Amanda.

The train's horn blew.

"_ALL SET!"_ Someone yelled.

_No._

I peeked my head out, ready to run, but immediately pulled back. There was a man standing there. The train started moving. Slowly, at first. But it was picking up seed quickly. I met eyes with Jess' terrified ones, watching me and Amanda slowly get further away.

It was a split-second decision, and I saw the end of the train draw near.

"Amanda!" I shrieked. I grabbed her hand, yanked her with me, and ran at the train. If I time it right... There's one open door. It's three cars behind the others, but it'll have to do.

"_Hey!"_ the man yelled. _"Don't you get on that train!"_

I dove through the open door, immediately turning to help Amanda, still running next to the train. I grabbed her sweatshirt- really _my _sweatshirt, but it's a bad time to be thinking about that- and with strength _I _didn't know I had, yanked her up to the train, and so she was lying next to me.

"Are… Are you alright?" I whispered.

Instead of answering, she rolled over and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm great." She muttered. "Are you?"

I nodded.

"Whose bag had the food?"

"Philby's."

"And the water?"

"Finn's."

"Damn." She whispered. "Are we going to dehydrate?"

I thought about the last time I had a drink of water.

_Well, that was yesterday morning. I think. Yes, _I'm_ going to dehydrate._

"It's only two and a half days."

She nodded. "Alright."

We slid, our backs now pressed against the side opposite the open door, staring at the snow-covered countryside pass by us.

**Charlie.**

"_We have to go back!_" Jess was yelling-screeching, really. "_We can't leave them!"_

I peered outside. The train must be going sixty by now- aren't these things supposed to move slower? Anyway, trying to get off this would just be a death wish. And however much I _wanted _to go back, one move and a crippling pain shoots through my ribcage.

"Jess…" Maybeck tried.

"_NO! That's my sister! _Finn! We can't- Her and Willa, we can't- we're a family, Finn! No one gets left behind! Finn! Your girlfriend!"

Finn stood in the middle of the cart, looking absolutely torn- and absolutely guilty. "I…" He'd try to say from time to time, but he was a little shell-shocked.

"How would we even do that, Jess?" Maybeck said. "We try to get off this train, we die. Next stop is four hours away. If we were to get off and walk back… We'd never find them, Jess."

"What are you saying!?"

"I'm saying... Jess. Until all of this _crap_ clears up… They're gone." He whispered. It hurt him to say it, and it hurt me to agree, but he was being logical.

Finn, finally getting his senses back, turned around and punched the wall behind him. He let his head fall and hit it, too, and stayed there, eerily calm and still for a long time. I think he's crying, and Phil must be, too, because he was sitting in the corner. I wanted to go pull him into a hug; it killed me to see either of them cry; but A) I can't move, and B) there were… _less stable_… matters to deal with…. As in, Jess…

"N-No! She's not!" Jess screeched. "They're both not- we can go back for them!"

"No, we can't, Jess. You know that." I said, surprising myself how even-toned I was. I felt like falling apart.

She knew I was right. Her face twisted into agony, and she sat in the middle of the cart, her head hanging down over her knees, hugging them to her chest.

"Jess, come here." I muttered. I still hadn't moved, but I held my arms out to her, and she reluctantly crawled towards me and accepted the hug. It hurt, _a lot_, but we stayed, locked in the hug for a while.

…

**Dramatic Irony-The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity. (When the audience is aware of a situation that characters are not)**

**Yeah, used a literary term.**

**For those younger viewers out there- Since WE know Amanda and Willa are on the train, but Finn and them do not, its dramatic irony. You'll need that in English soon.**

**REVIEW!**

**(I promise it'll get more exciting)**


	4. The Train

**Amanda**

"Wills… Wills, get up. Up. Come on."

She groaned.

"I know, I feel pretty bad, too."

"How long… have we been on the road?" She groaned.

"It's four in the morning. Wills, we've been on the road almost two days."

She rolled over, holding her stomach.

"Why'd you wake me up?" She groaned. She pressed her forehead into the ground.

"I don't know. Make sure you're still alright?" I suggested. "Pee break?"

"Manda, I haven't peed since the day we left New York."

"Ew."

"I'm dehydrated. So are you." She rasped. "And starving. Let me sleep."

She rolled over again, facing me. The train hit a bump and she grabbed her head. She scooted towards me, and I put a hand on her back, leaning back against the wall.

I was feeling the effects of dehydration, as well. My head was pounding, my ears ringing. My mouth was dry. Willa was scaring me, though. I felt her heartbeat, since my hand was on her back. It was rapid, much like her breathing. I closed my eyes, trying to fight off the sharp pain spreading through my abs.

I had bigger things to worry about. For one, 'the rule of threes'. Three minutes without air? We've got that. Three hours without shelter- we've got the train.

Three days without water.

We'd left the train station forty-four hours ago. If we go twenty-eight more… We'll die. Lucky for me, I chugged that bottle of water before we left.

I snapped out of my near-sleeping state, shaking Willa awake.

"Willa! Willa… when was the last time you drank anything?"

"Eh… Uh… I don't know... I don't…"

"Wills. Think."

"Day… day before we left…" She muttered.

A shock shot through me. _Three days. THREE._

"Willa… Wills, I…"

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yeah, I know. Three days. Blah blah blah."

"Willa, you're going to _die_! And you're just saying it like it's nothing?"

She looked at me. And sat up, really quickly.

"Willa?"

She stuck her head out the train door, and vomited.

"Whoa-Willa!" I immediately wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back into the train, and holding her up as she did it again.

She let herself fall back, resting against me.

"And that marks the final stage of dehydration. _Now_ I'm scared." She said quickly.

**Jess**

I shifted, moving my head on my warm pillow. Wow, it was soft… and… weird.

My pillow shrieked, and something hit me on the head. Hard. I shot up, my eyes wide open.

"Ah! Ow… Ow, _ow, Jess, that hurt!_"

"Char? What happened?"

"Y-you put your head against m-my rib- Ah!" She was forcing the words out, her pain evidently making it hard to talk.

I pulled her into a hug, carefully. "I'm sorry… Sh, calm down."

She buried her face in me. There we stayed as she calmed herself down.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, after a few minutes.

"That's alright." I said. "I'm sorry for hitting your rib."

She shrugged. My stomach growled. I pulled a can of soup out of Phil's bag; him, Finn, and Maybeck still lay, asleep. I popped open the can, took a sip, and passed it to Char.

As she gulped it down, I watched her. She was shaking, leaned back against the side of the train car. She drank slowly, as if each sip might be her last. And she'd look around every few seconds, trying to spot the 'danger' before it came.

"Char." I whispered suddenly. She might have jumped at the sound of my voice. Or hiccupped, I don't know.

"Yeah?"

"What.. Happened… in the, uh, FBI base?"

She froze. Her eyes got a bit wider. She put the can of soup in front of me, turning towards the open entrance of the train, away from me.

"Char? I'm… Listen, I'm sorry."

"No, no… I get it. I'm different. I'm really trying to go back to normal, Jess, trust me."

"No- I just want to know. Just curious, I shouldn't have asked."

She bit her lip.

"They… They locked us up. Tied us to chairs; from the second I got there I didn't move more than my fingers and head. I couldn't. They duct taped me to a chair. Me and Maybeck- we sat in the same room, either facing each other, or away from each other."

"Yeah?" I whispered. That's tough; not moving for days. They'd been there four days.

"The first night, they came in. Roughed us up a bit, hit us…We had to, uh… Well they took our clothes. We had underwear, b-but. You know. It wasn't, uh, comfortable. Th-They stared at me a b-bit too long, in between hitting me or Maybeck." She whispered. "If you, uh.. Know what I mean…"

"Char, you don't have to-"

"Then they left us to sleep. Th-the second day, it was pitch black." She had a thousand-mile stare that wouldn't break. "P-Pitch black. And… there was this noise, this… it had to have been a piano, a recording of someone playing three notes… sounded so creepy. Went off at random times at first, until after a few hours I was _afraid_ of when I'd hear it next. And then it repeated, on a loop. Every five seconds. Made me go insane. I was crying… Maybeck was freaking out… couldn't sleep. I-It got louder every t-time. Every time, just a bit louder. Went on to the next morning. W-Wouldn't stop…"

"Char…" I whispered, pulling her into a hug. She didn't fight it, letting herself rest against me. She didn't stop talking.

"Wouldn't stop… The, uh, third day, it got lighter in the room, They beat us up more. We asked what they want and they said they wanted us to suffer until the 'Boss' gets there. That night, I passed out… From lack of food, or water, I don't know, but next thing I know, M-M… Manda's there… In front of m-me… I-I… I…"

"Shhhh, Char." I tightened the hug. She gasped and sputtered for air. And then, she sobbed into me.

"Jess, they can't- I don't want… They're after us!" She was shaking, gasping. I kissed her forehead.

Maybeck woke up, shooting to his feet.

"_You bastards! You-_ Oh…" He sighed. "Heard Charlie crying… bad… Bad memories."

"You okay?" I asked him.

He nodded, slowly sitting down.

"Here." I tossed him a can of soup.

"Thanks."

**Willa**

Everything hurt.

My stomach felt like someone was driving a knife through it. My head felt like the train was in the process of running it over. My throat was so dry, it felt like it was crumbling. I could taste the vomit burning the back of my throat. Ew. My skin was _burning, _and my heart seemed to beat at random.

I had beaten the odds. Four days without water.

I'll be dead soon.

Amanda was not in a better state by much. She could still move around the cart, with extreme difficulty, and her temperature had not yet spiked. Occasionally, when I'd feel myself slipping from the earth, falling through space, she'd whimper 'Willa', and it sounded so desperate, I'd drag my sorry butt back.

Right now, I lay on the cool steel floor of the cart. Yesterday, when Amanda was still able to move around easily, my temperature had shot up. She couldn't do anything but pull my clothes off so I lay in my bra and underwear in attempts to cool me down.

She claims it's cold out. To me, it feels like a mid-summer day in Orlando, or Anaheim. Hot. I can see my breath condense, for those few painful seconds I force my eyes open, though. And past that, I can see Amanda's worried face.

Me and her- Her and _I_, were at the back corner of the train car. My head rested on her lap, her one hand holding mine and the other laying on my stomach.

I felt myself slip. My head rolled as I fell. It was like freefalling, my stomach doing backflips.

_Willa!_ I heard. Faintly.

My headache stopped. My stomach felt so much better.

And suddenly, I felt pressure. On my chest. Thud… thud… thud… Air was forced into my lungs. Reality hit me like the ground after a ten-foot fall. Headache? Yes. Stomach? In knots.

I gasped for air, opening my eyes. I started to cry, but no tears leaked down my face. It was just strangled, raspy sobs.

"Willa…" Amanda whispered. She weakly held to my arm, looking terrified as ever. "Willa!"

She held me, but, as she was in just as much pain as I, couldn't do much. I grabbed fistfuls of her shirt, clinging on for my life, just like Charlie had done to me what seems like weeks ago.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

The train stopped.

Both of us were too shocked to do much of anything. Too shocked to think about getting caught. So what did we do? We pushed ourselves into crawling positions and stumbled out of that train car.

"Whoah- Whoah, Hey! Kids just jumped out.. Oh, god… Are you okay?"

I blacked out.

…

_Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…_

I gasped, sitting up. Wires… Wires attached to me… What? Where… am I? One of the wires hooked up to my arm went up to a bag- an IV drip.

I tried to push myself out of the bed.

"Isabella-" Someone with a thick southern drawl said quickly. "Isabella. Please- Lay down. Lay down, there you go."

"How do you know my name!? Where am I?!"

"Shh, Isabella- ah, Willa, is it? Your friends call you Willa?"

My blood turned to ice. How did this lady know that? I started to rip the wires off, and out of my arm- and that stupid tube out of my nose.

"Hey! Stop! That's helping you!"

I tried for the door, but the lady grabbed my arms.

"_Let me go!"_ I shrieked.

"Calm down!" The woman yelled back.

I felt very weak, suddenly. I'd been running on adrenaline. And it ran out.

"Willa, your friends are outside. I'm going to go get them, okay? Stay calm."

Friends? The keepers? They're okay? That must've been how she knew my name. Okay. Deep breaths.

She helped me back to the bed, and I sat. She put the oxygen tube back in my nose.

"Here. Drink this to get your strength up. You were severely dehydrated." She handed me a cup of water. "I'll be right back."

Almost as soon as she had exited the room, the door opened again, and immediately after a flash of orange, I was wrapped in a warm hug.

"Oh my god, Wills." Philby whispered into my neck. He kissed my forehead, sliding onto the bed and pulling me into his lap. "I'm so sorry…"

"For what, Phil?"

"We just… Left."

"I'm sure you didn't 'just leave.' You had no choice. I'm fine." I whispered, pressing my face into his chest.

"Willa, you were literally so close to being _dead_ when they found you, they almost gave up on you. Loaded Amanda onto the ambulance, and tried to decide if moving you would kill you. If it was even worth it." He said, and I heard his voice cracking. "Willa, your heart stopped on the way over here."

"Amanda!" I ignored the second half of his sentence. "How's… How's Amanda?"

"She's okay. She's out- they let her walk around a bit. Her bed's right there, next to yours. See?"

I breathed out, attempting to calm myself down.

"You took all the wires out of your arm? Willa!" He nearly yelled. "That IV drip was keeping you alive! And the oxygen-"

"Phil, I'm fine. See? We need to get out of here."

"Willa-"

"Philby, we already blew it. We need to get out of here. It's a _hospital_, of course there's going to be green eyes! Not only that, but my name was logged into the computer! The OT's-"

"No, it wasn't." He said.

"What?"

"We made sure they didn't log you into a computer."

I nodded.

"Calm down. This place isn't that big. We swept it for green eyes. Didn't find any." He mumbled. He kissed my temple, then my cheek. Before he could do anything else, I turned, pressing our lips together. His hands were on my hips, mine entwined in his hair.

"Hey." The door opened. "Ew… Philby, they sent you in here to calm her down. Not get her all excited."

He broke off the kiss, and we looked up to see Jess standing in the doorway.

"Jess!"

I went to stand, but a dizzy spell hit me. I felt my knees go weak. Philby's arms wrapped around me before I fell, swinging me back onto the bed.

"Willa?" I heard, faintly. I should take it easy.

"Eeuugh…" I muttered.

"Hey, kid, take it easy. We'll get the nurse to hook you back up to the IV drip. That'll help." Jess said softly. "Phil, go get her."

Philby nodded, and disappeared out the door.

"Hey, Wills. What's up?" Jess whispered, sitting on the bed.

"Not much…" I sighed. "Hey, how did you make sure our names weren't entered in the computer?"

"Oh. Easy. Your name's Mary. Mary Turner."

My blood turned to ice. My heart skipped a beat.

"Wh-…What?"

"Wills? What's wrong? Willa?"

"She… The nurse, She called me Isabella. And Willa. She knows my name."

Jess froze.

"We… We looked all over for green eyes."

"When?" I said, quickly.

"When they were hooking you and Amanda up to all the machines- there were none!"

"Are you sure!? Jess!" I screeched. The door opened, and Phil walked in with a nurse.

"Wills, she's got blue eyes." Jess whispered.

"_She _does. That's not my nurse."

"Yes, it is. Willa?"

"That's not the one that was in here when I woke up." I said.

The nurse- a very kind-looking lady- looked confused. She wiped my arm down with alcohol, and started to stick the needle into my arm. Jess grabbed my hand and smiled a little.

"I'm sorry, dear? No one's been in here since six this morning. To change your IV drip." The nurse trailed off. "Hm, it might be time to change it- that's weird. I could've sworn it was only supposed to give you small doses."

The woman examined the IV drip.

"Who did you say… Was in here?"

"Uh.. A woman.. Black hair. Looked maybe twenty-four. Looked tired." I said.

As if on cue, the door opened, and there stood the woman.

"_She doesn't work here!"_

Her eyes widened, and she sprung for the door. Philby ran after her. The real nurse followed her into the hallway.

"_She had green eyes._" Jess whispered. She leapt across the bed, ripping the needle from my arm.

"Ow! Jess!" I said. My arm started to bleed- like really _gush _blood. "Egh!"

She tied a paper towel around it, dragging me up, out of the bed, out of the room.

"Why would you- Jess… Jess, slow down a little bit."

"A _green eyes _was in the room with you and we didn't know! How could we be so… Are you okay?"

_No, no I am not. I can't breathe._

I couldn't get the words out. Black entered the sides of my vision. I dropped to my knees, suddenly winded, as if an invisible force just sucked the air out of me.

"Willa!" Jess shrieked, from far away. Her arms wrapped around me.

And suddenly, it was gone.

"Jess… Jess, I'm… I'm fine. That was weird. I'm fine, you can let go."

"Willa, what was that!?"

"Probably just not used to being off the IV… We have to run. Let's go."

Jess and I shot down the hallway- Oh my god, I'm so out of breath.

I trailed behind. Suddenly, someone jumped out, blocking our path.

_Click._

Oh god. A gun. _He has a gun_.

I tried to figure out who that man was, but I could not tear my gaze from the gun. The _gun._ Pointed at _Jess._

"See that door next to you? Open it. NOW!"

I nodded, slowly reaching for the handle.

"Both of you. IN."

I looked in, and there was the green-eyed nurse from before. She smirked evilly. She stood among a small group- three people, to be exact- and all three looked at us maliciously. Hungrily.

They stood in what must be a 'break room', counters lining the walls and a table in the middle. There wasn't much else, save for a fridge and a microwave.

The man with the gun came in, and Jess yelped as he pulled her towards him. Jess stood, the gun pressed against her head.

"If you shoot her, they'll catch you." I said, shakily.

"We know." The man dropped the gun, holding Jess in a chokehold. Jess, looking _quite _terrified and tiny in the man's strong grip, grabbed onto his arm. "We need something a little more… untraceable."

Suddenly, there was a big man holding onto my left arm, and a woman holding onto my right. The nurse stood behind me, holding my head still. I kicked out and thrashed, but nothing worked. I screamed.

Almost immediately, they had poured a vial of liquid down my throat. And almost immediately, I clamped my mouth shut. One of them pinched my nose shut.

"_Swallow!"_ one of them screamed at me. I could feel the liquid slosh around in my throat.

"_NO! Willa!"_ Jess screeched.

I was running out of air. I had to take a breath.

And I did.

And the liquid crept down my throat, and I gasped.

_Click._

I turned to the familiar noise, and almost cried. Amanda stood with a gun pointed at the man holding Jess; it was his own gun.

"Out. GET OUT!" Amanda yelled.

Seeing she was dead serious, they backed out, arms raised. And as soon as they were in the hallway, they ran. And what did Amanda do?

She shot after them. She _shot them_.

"Amanda!" Jess screeched.

"Relax. I shot at the ground. To scare them off." She sighed, dropping the gun. "Good thing I got here before anyone was hurt."

"No! N-No, Willa- they made her drink something!"

It tasted like blood and metal in my mouth. Black crept into my vision once again, this time for a completely different cause.

"I'm- it's poison… I…" I looked around. My knees buckled, and Amanda sat behind me, holding me up.

"Willa? Calm- Willa, st-stop…" Was all Amanda could manage. She didn't know what to do. I may as well already be dead.

_Think…Think!_

I looked around. Fridge, table… bowl of fruit… fruit.

"Jess! Get me that lemon.." I slurred. "And.. a fork.."

She did so, opening drawers to find what I needed.

"Here… Wills, you have a plan?" she whispered.

"Cup…" I muttered. My eyelids got heavier.

She did so. Everything got fuzzier. I pointed at the big white blob that was the fridge.

"…Milk.."

I stabbed the lemon with a fork, trying to squeeze juice into the cup, but I was already weak. Amanda's hand closed over mine, helping me. She unscrewed the cap to the milk, and poured some into the cup- only a little, so that there was just as much lemon juice as milk. She saw what I was doing.

I swirled the mixture, and downed the glass- _that was the most disgusting thing I've ever had- _and gagged.

"Willa?" Jess whispered.

Amanda, however, knew what I was doing. She helped me to be on my hands and knees, and rubbed my back. It was a matter of how quickly my body realized a) there was a foreign substance in my stomach that _shouldn't _be there (the poison) and b) I had just drank soured milk- _intentionally_ soured milk- and it needs to get out of me.

My stomach backflipped, and I groaned.

"Wills… You... You okay?"

I tried to take a breath, but gagged. And I blew chunks.

"I-Is that the poison!?" Jess shrieked.

"No, it's Willa's quick thinking saving her life." Amanda muttered, tying my hair back.

I gagged, emptying my stomach again, and breathing heavy.

"Huh?"

"She ingested the poison, and she made herself puke it up again before it had any lasting effects on her." Amanda said. She rubbed my back as I puked a third time.

Jess processed this information. "She got the poison out of her system."

"Yes."

"Along with everything else."

"Hm?"

"Amanda, she's in here for severe dehydration and she's puking up all the water in her."

You know, it's not fair. Solve one problem, have another.

I sighed.

"We can deal with that later. When I'm not dying of…" I stopped, to hiccup. "…poison. Where's everyone?"

"You okay?" Amanda whispered, smoothing my hair back.

I nodded. "Yeah, but where is everyone?"

"I don't know. We got attacked by green eyes in the cafeteria, and a fight broke out. I ran to find you, Jess, and Phil."

"Let's go get them." I muttered. My stomach lurched.

**Charlie**

A fist landed on the side of my face. Right next to my eye. I groaned, holding my head. But I got back to the fight quickly, avoiding the green-eyes's heel trying to lodge itself in my flesh. I caught the lady's leg and pushed her over, so she landed on her back. Immediately, I took the coca cola bottle from the table next to me and smashed it over her head. She fell limp.

"You good, Charlie?" Finn huffed, finishing his own battle. Maybeck walked over to both of us.

"I'm alright."

"No, you're not." Maybeck muttered. His hand brushed over the forming bruise on my eye. "That looks _bad. _Was she wearing a ring? It's _bleeding_."

Finn quickly wadded up paper towels, ran it under the water fountain, and held it to the side of my head, beckoning for me to hold it. Philby ran in.

"Guys! Have you seen Willa!?" He yelled. "Or Amanda or Jess!?"

"No, but we have to leave! There's green eyes!"

"We _know!"_ The elevator opened, and out walked Jess, who had her arm around Willa, seemingly helping her walk.

"One just-" Amanda was cut off by Willa suddenly breaking out of Jess's hold and running to the nearest garbage can- which happened to be next to me. She grabbed onto it, supporting herself, and groaned.

"Wills?"

"One just poisoned Willa."

In an instant, Phil was behind her, wrapping her in a hug. Willa groaned.

"Poisoned!?" I said.

Willa retched into the garbage can. She groaned again, and Phil kissed her temple, rubbing her stomach.

"Yeah, but we're lucky she's smart. Drank milk and lemon juice, and puked the poison back up right away." Jess said.

Willa just moaned, burying her face in Philby's chest. "Yeah, I'm a freaking genius. Now I'll be puking my guts up for a day." She muttered, sarcastically.

"Saved your life."

"Yeah… Whatever." She broke away from Philby. "We need to get away from here. They know we're here. I'm voting we go north. They won't suspect us to go back into cold."

"Because we'll freeze."

"No, we won't. We need to catch a train back up. Or a few taxi's. Something mainly untraceable… And me and Amanda need new clothes… Hospitaal gowns aren't… really… _oh._" She swallowed, but it was to no avail; she ran back to the garbage can yet again.

"We're not going anywhere until you're better." Finn muttered.

"I'm fine." She said. But even she knew it was useless; her voice was weak.

"We should jack an IV drip. Or two." I whispered, watching Amanda make her way over to Jess. They wrapped each other in a hug, Jess now supporting much of Amanda's weight.

An idea occurred to me. I walked over to the unconscious green-eyes, and reached in her pocket. Once I'd found the item I was looking for, I moved onto the next one.

In a few minutes, I held two pairs of car keys in my hand, smirking.

"I call driving!"

The others smiled.

"_Nice."_

…

**LOoooooooong chap.**

**Ya like?**

**OOhh, who's gonna drive? ;)**

**Almost separated into two chapters but. Eh. So it moves a little too fast.**


	5. The Open Road

**Charlie.**

"_NO making out in the back seat!_" I laughed. I swerved the car so that they bumped heads.

"Charlie! We weren't!" Willa laughed.

"I know. Just warning you." I smirked.

"Besides, that'd be disgusting! I've been _puking_ every three minutes- I think it's half your driving by the way-"

"That's _insulting_."

I glanced in the mirror to see Willa making the most ridiculous face I've ever seen, and laughed so hard the car swerved. In the passenger's seat next to me, Maybeck had a white-knuckled grip on the arm rests.

"Who gave you your license!?" He yelled, over the sound of blasting music and wind whipping past the windows.

I smirked.

"No one."

"_What!?"_

"Maybeck, I'm only sixteen. I don't _have _a license." I laughed.

"We're. Going. To. Die."

"Maybe. But not today!" I laughed. I pulled up, ahead of Finn, who was currently driving the other car. Amanda lay in the backseat, Jess in the passenger's. Amanda, who had been in seemingly better condition when we got to the hospital in the first place, was feeling (and _looking) _a lot worse. She was dizzy, apparently, and nauseous. At least, at the last bathroom stop we'd taken, that's how she was. Willa, on the other hand, was feeling _fine-_ or at least fine enough to be being all girlfriend-boyfriend in the back seat with Phil. The 'puking every three minutes' thing was a huge exaggeration- we'd had only stopped three or four times in two hours. She claimed it was just the soured milk.

Finn sped ahead of me, taking advantage of the wide-open and deserted country road.

Apparently, being a green-eyes pays _very_ well. And if not in actual money, it pays off anyway. The two stolen cars were both _really nice._ And _really expensive, _might I add. I drove a new Camaro- it _had _to have been modified, though, because there was _tons _of room in it. Finn now drove a black Cadillac SUV. It could fit all seven of us… But come on. We _couldn't_ leave the Camaro.

The Cadillac slowed, and I did too. The walkie-talkie buzzed, and I immediately rolled up all the windows and shut off the music.

"Hello?" Maybeck picked up the walkie talkie.

"_Guys, you gotta pull over. Manda's about to blow chunks- she's not looking too great, I want Philby to check on her." _Finn said. His voice was strong, but I could hear the worry creeping in.

"Of course!" I slammed on the brakes (Just to spite Maybeck and Willa), and Willa lurched forward, falling off of Philby's lap. I heard the _thud _as she hit the back of my seat.

"Ugh… Char…." She whispered.

"Wills, I'm so sorry… I didn't realize we were moving so fast… And I didn't realize you weren't wearing a seatbelt."

"Yeah, I'm just… Gonna lay here… Go check on Amanda."

"No, you should stretch your legs. Come on. Out." Philby muttered. He helped Willa out of the car. Then, he went over to the other car, stepping in and talking to Amanda.

Me, Maybeck and Willa wandered around the side of the highway. Willa stopped abruptly, and Maybeck, being nearest to her, grabbed her waist, about to catch her before she fell.

"I'm fine… just got a little dizzy. Anyway, can I please have some water?" She whispered.

"I left it in the car." We all looked down the road, towards the two cars. They were about a football field—a hundred yards— away; we'd wandered farther than we thought. Finn stood outside of the Cadillac, which was a good fifty feet from the Camaro. Phil, Jess, and Amanda were inside. "Let's start heading back, now."

They nodded, and we ambled along, back to the car.

"Okay... What…?" Maybeck muttered. Finn was running to the Cadillac- screaming something. He dove into the car and floored it- it skidded to life and came _right at us. _It skidded, turning so it's passengers side door faced us. It stopped a few feet away from hitting us- something out of an action movie.

...ChsshhhhhHHHH-_BOOM._

I felt my knees buckle as I felt the shockwave in my chest. Next to me, Wills and Maybeck fell, too.

"_Shit! The Camaro!_" someone yelled.

I pushed myself to my feet, gasping. Maybeck and Willa were still on the ground, but they weren't unconscious or anything- just frozen in fear.

I ran around the car, trying to see what had just happened.

In front of me, on the open road, lay the burnt remains of the frame of a car. I'd never have known it was _our _car- it may've been a freaking boat, for what it looked like. Mangled beyond belief. Pieces of charred car were _all over _the road. An inhuman noise escaped me- something between a groan of '_Really!?_' to a pant of '_I'm alive, holy ***!'_

"_Everyone okay!?_" Philby yelled, rolling out of the passenger's seat.

"The _Camaro!? Really!?"_ I screeched. "How did- How did that _happen!?"_

"More important- _how did we get so lucky!?_"

"Eh…" The back door opened to reveal a pale-faced, terrified, Amanda and Jess. "Don't question it…"

Amanda stumbled out, pulling me into a hug.

"Huh?"

"I don't know… Just let me hug you…" Amanda whispered. I nodded.

"Amanda… is everything okay?"

She was taking abrupt breaths, randomly gasping for air. It seemed she was chuckling, occasionally, but her face was contorted in pain. Her legs gave out, and I sunk to the ground with her.

"Shh, okay. Calm down. Finn. _Finn!_" I shrieked. He ran around the car, sliding to his knees next to her. He put his hands out- but he did not touch her. He didn't pull her into a hug like I thought he would. He stuck his hands out, yes, but it was more of a precautionary 'I'll catch her if she falls toward me'.

This, I realized, was because he had no clue what was happening. He didn't want to hurt her. And he was trusting that _I _did. Which was a bad assumption.

"Uh… Manda," I whispered. "Manda, tell me what's wrong. Hm?"

"S-Sorry… it hurt my chest… I don't know." She whispered. She leaned against me, her head now resting against my shoulder.

"I second that…" Jess whispered breathlessly. She was on the ground, too, her head on Willa's lap."

"Shock wave." Phil mumbled. He was leaning up against the car.

"How come I don't feel it?" Finn said quickly.

"Adrenaline." Jess said, sitting up.

"Adrenaline?"

"You were driving ninety miles an hour at three of your friends, an explosion went off, and then your girlfriend was in the back seat screaming at the top of her lungs." She explained.

"I don't remember screaming." Amanda mumbled into my shoulder.

"My eardrums do."

Manda laughed, sitting up. "Thanks, Char… it felt like my insides were twisting."

"You good now?"

She nodded, wiping a few tears out of her eyes. Finn wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes and buried her face in the crook of his neck. They were cute, I had to admit.

"Hate to break this up, but we have to get moving again." Philby said. "We don't know if the car was wired to explode, or that was some sort of missile. We need to _move._"

Philby got in the driver's seat, Maybeck in the passengers. The rest of us piled in the back. I was sandwiched between Amanda and Jess in the very back. Finn and Willa sat in the middle row.

Once we'd gotten back on track, I turned to Amanda.

She looked a little better than before. But she was pale, and she looked tired. Her eyes met mine, and softened.

"Hey, Char." She whispered.

"Go to sleep, Manda."

She shrugged. I put my arm around her shoulders, and she lay her head against my shoulder. In seconds, she was out.

From next to me, Jess fidgeted. I realized she looked tired, too. She grabbed onto my arm and fell asleep much like Amanda.

I looked up. We rode along some country back-road, the dirt being kicked up behind us. To either side were fields of crops, the occasional barn. Cows. Horses. I didn't realize how long I'd zoned out for until Willa muttered a quick 'Char?'

"Hm?" I was snapped out of my thoughts. I looked up at her; she was turned around, the side of her face squished against the seat. "Yeah, Wills?"

"I… we need to pull over. Unless you want this car to smell like puke."

"Oh… Phil, pull over. Willa doesn't feel good."

**Willa**

My stomach lurched. I felt the burning creep up my throat, and groaned, before it forced itself up and I emptied my stomach into the roadside ditch.

I took a shaky breath. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped me in a hug. I jumped.

"Hey… Shh." I heard. I sunk back, letting myself rest against Philby. He kissed my cheek. I groaned.

"Phil…" I whispered, trying to take deep breaths. _I just feel so crappy… My head feels like there are alarms going off, pounding on the inside of my skull._ A knot caught in my throat.

"Willa." He mumbled, pulling me into a tight hug. "Hey, calm down. Just take a breath. I'm here, no worries."

The desire to break down and _sob_, however, hit me all at once. I couldn't hold it any longer. Tears pooled in my eyes, blurring my vision. All of the _pain _from the past few months hit me all at once.I whimpered.

Philby cupped my face in his hands, giving me a light kiss on the nose.

"Willa…" He whispered. I choked on a sob, and I buried my face in his chest. "Hey, Willa."

He lifted me up, walking deeper into the woods we'd pulled over by. Occasionally, he'd give me a kiss on the neck or cheek. I was still crying when he sat down in a little clearing in the forest. He put me in his lap and held me for a while.

I tried to regain my breath, but it only made it worse. It was now ugly sobs that wracked my entire body; uncontrollable, shaky wails in between that I could not control.

"Shh…" He whispered. "I've got you, Wills."

It took a pretty long time for me to stop bawling.

"I'm sorry, Phil… I'm so sorry. I don't know-"

"Hey." He cut me off. "You're under a lot of stress. It's okay." He rubbed my back.

I took a breath, closing my eyes. He leaned over and kissed my neck, and then my jaw, and then my cheek and about everywhere else on my face. (Except my lips. That'd be gross; I'd been puking my guts up not ten minutes before.)

"We should go back." I whispered.

"Yeah." He muttered, his lips still pressed against my neck. "I guess we should."

**Charlie.**

As Phil slid back into the driver's seat, Willa got in the back. I noticed her red, puffy eyes.

"Wills, you alright?"

She gave me a small smile, and I knew she wasn't. I sighed. Amanda shifted, her head resting in the crook of my neck now, and shivered.

"Phil, turn up the heat back here. They're freezing."

He nodded, and it got warmer. I zoned out again, only to be pulled back into reality by our speed accelerating. Like, _a lot._

"Phil!?"

"Cops!" He screeched, as I watched the speedometer break a hundred. In the distance, I could hear sirens.

"_Go!_"

….

**Willa just had a slight mental breakdown. No biggie.**

**Kinda pointless. Just wanted to get something up for ya.**

**REVIEW.**


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